Insulating protector for conducting wires



1944. M. M. KENNEALLY 2,351,109

INSULATING PROTECTOR FOR CONDUCTING WIRES Filed May 26, 1943 J I J/ 1 NV ENTOR.

Patented Oct. 24, 1944 fUNlT'E'D STATES PATENT OFFICE .INSULATINGPROTECTOR FOR CONDUCT- ING WIRES .Martin M. KenneallmsBrighton, N. Y;,'assignor to The; Porcelain Insulator. Corporation, Lima, -N..Y., acorporation of New York Application May 26, 1943,' Serial 'No. 488,594

2 Claimso (01.174-136.)

This invention relates to aninsulating'protector' for'conducting'wiresand has for its purpose toprovide a practical, low cost,-efiicientstructure designed to be easily applied to a conducting wire and actingto shield'it from contact with the trunk or limb of a tree, or from someother solid object-located in contact with or close proximity tothe-conductor, and which wouldinjure ordestroy the latter if notprotected from" rubbing thereagainst.

A serious problem with current carrying-wires has been to protect themagainst grounding when in contact with tree trunks, branches, or thelike, and various protective devices have been offered for the purposeincluding wood molding, rubber and cambric materials or other likeinsulation secured around the conductor, also 'a metal and porcelainunit rigidly secured to the tree with the conducting wire held tightlyagainst the porcelain, but all such installations have beenobjectionable in some respect, the wood molding being subject tocharring, the other insulating materials when attached to the wire beingliable to quick wear and destruction from the necessary abrasion thatthey must undergo, and a porcelain unit attached rigidly to a tree andsecured to the conductor being impractical due to the relative movementsof the conducting wire and tree, and it is a particular object of theinvention to afford a durable and compact protecting device thatconstitutes a permanent insulator with proper electrical characteristicsunder both wet and dry conditions, that permits the necessary relativemovement between the conducting wire and tree or limb without adversityaffecting the conductor, that is not afiected by continuous rubbing orabrasive action, and which is economical to produce and can be quicklyapplied in any desired location.

Another purpose of the invention is to afiord a protector that can beeasily positioned on a conducting wire and permanently secured againstendwise movement, which will wear indefinitely and function successfullyas an insulator. between the conducting wire and tree, and which willreceive the abrasion and shocks resulting from relative movementsbetween the conductor and tree without imposing any strain or wear onthe conductor or its covering.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction thatwill appear clearly from the following description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, the novel features beingpointed out in the claims following the specification.

'In'the drawing: Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a protector madeaccording to one embodiment of the invention and showing its applicationto a conducting wire; Fig; 2 is a bottom plan view of the same;

Fig. 3-is a sectional view on theline 3-3 of Fig. l with the conductingwire omitted, and

'Fig. 4 is an end view of the device.

Referring more particularly to the drawing in which likereferencenumerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views,theLinvention comprises an elongated body that is of generally U-shapedcross-section and made from porcelain, glass, or other hard, toughinsulating material, the structure when formed of porcelain being madefrom wet clay and baked in the usual manner employed in the manufactureof wet process porcelain high tension insulators.

The porcelain body is of elongated form, preferably from twelve tosixteen inchesin length, has an inside diameter at the top ofapproximately one inch, and is glazed to afford a hard, smooth surfacethat can be subjected to abrasive action against a tree branch or trunkwithout afiecting the porcelain material. The length of the insulatinprotector is such as to permit any ordinary relative movement betweenthe tree part and the conducting wire.

The porcelain body includes a top wall I and side walls 2 which arerelatively wide so as 'to extend substantially below the conducting wire3 when supported thereon, as shown in Fig. 1, the Weight of theporcelain body being sufficient to hold the protector in positionresting on the conductor, and in order to prevent endwise movement ofthe protector, it is preferably secured to the conducting wire bysuitable fastening means such as tie wires 4 attached to the porcelainbody and fastened around the conductor.

To enable fastening the tie wires to the porcelain body, the latter hasprovision for connecting them preferably in the form of openings 5 inthe side walls 2 located near the ends of the latter. The openings 5 arepreferably inclined from the outer surfaces of the insulating bodydownwardly and inwardly so as to enable threading a tie wiretherethrough and around the conducting wire at such an angle as toimpose minimum strain on the tie wires and thus lengthen their life.

The porcelain body is preferably formed about five-eighths of an inch inthickness throughout, affording a weight of from four pounds for thetwelve inch length unit to five and one-quarter pounds for th sixteeninch length unit, which is suflioient to enable the protector to beeasily supported by gravity on the conductor and have sufiicient bodyand hardness to withstand any abrasion, shock, or wear, to which it issubjected.

The device is installed by positioning it over the conducting wire 3 inthe position shown in Fig. 1, after which the tie wires are threadedthrough the openings 5 and thence wound around the conducting wire 3 inany suitable fashion to secure the insulator unit against endwisemovement on the conducting wire. In some instances, it may be desirableto protect a conducting wire for a greater distance than afiorded by asingle protector, and in such case, two or more of the porcelainprotector units can be positioned over a conducting wire injuxtarelation to each other and secured together with suitable fasteningwires, while the entire assembly is fastened on the conductor and heldagainst endwise movement by tie wires attached through the openings atthe opposite ends of the porcelain material and wrapped around theconducting wire as already described.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with a specificembodiment, it is not confined to the precise arrangement hereindescribed, and this application is intended to cover such modificationsor departures as may come within the purposes of the improvement or thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An insulating protector for preventing abrasion of conducting wiresfrom trees and the like comprising a porcelain body of a uniformthickness throughout of approximately five-eighths of an inch that is ofU-shaped cross-section throughout its length and has an unobstructedinterior circularly curved at the top whereby it can straddle and bepositioned by a downward movement on a conducting wire,'and includingside walls having straight continuous bottom edges and transversecircular openings that are inclined inwardly and downwardly from theouter surfaces and symmetrically located near their ends to receivefastening means that engage the conducting wire and prevent endwisemovement of the insulator.

2. An insulating protector for preventing abrasion of conducting wiresfrom trees and the like comprising an elongated uniformly thick-walledporcelain body that is of U-shaped cross-section throughout its lengthand has an unobstructed interior circularly curved at the top whereby itcan straddle and be positioned by a downward movement on a conductingwire, and including side walls having straight continuous bottom edgesand transverse circular openings that are inclined inwardly anddownwardly from the outer surfaces and symmetrically located near theirends to receive fastening means that engage the conducting wire andprevent endwise movement of the insulator.

MARTIN M. KENNEALLY.

